CONTAGION
by InsaniumArtisan
Summary: The virus struck so quickly. No one knew where it came from. There was no way to track its origins, and with the rate of infection, it rapidly became dangerous to continue living life in a normal-fashion, without taking precautions. Amongst all of the wreckage and misfortune, one organization struggles to stand strong. The Akatsuki live on. For now.


**Author's Note: **This has been haunting me for months now, ever since I wrote _"Fly Free"._ This is my AU!Naruto-fic in which the original Etsuko lies, in all of her badass (not really) glory. In this universe, she is much, much different from the one seen previously, as the circumstances in this world reflect the seriousness that she will carry. If you can't tell, this features an OC. If you don't like that sort of thing, I'd suggest you stop reading now, because it will continue from her perspective in the next chapter and onwards.

Small warning, while this does feature romance (Kisame/OC), it will be very hardly seen, and very hardly developed, as that's not the main point of this piece. Now if the mood strikes me, I may write one-shots or drabbles furthering their interactions together. But then again, I should probably wait to see how readers even handle this pairing, yeah? I'm not going to bother with a '_I don't own Naruto' _word, because that's obvious enough.

Hope you guys enjoy.

**FOREWORD: THIS TAKES PLACE BEFORE GAARA'S CAPTURE, AND SASORI'S DEATH.**

_- InsaniumArtisan_

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><p><em><strong>CONTAGION<strong>_

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><p><em>The virus struck so quickly.<em>

_No one knew where it came from. There was no way to track its origins, and with the rapid rate of infection, it rapidly became dangerous to continue living life in a normal-fashion, without taking precautions. Hundreds dropped dead within the first few weeks, and thousands became sick. The land-wide scale on which it progressed was like watching the tide roll over a beach, pushing forward, yet not crawling back._

_Ninja have become much more considerate of their surrounding, making sure to wear thicker armor. Its custom for citizens and workers alike to keep a gas mask on while outside, and to keep windows and doors boarded up at the ends, lest the virus seep in through the cracks in the groundwork. Food has been placed on a national ration, varying from place to place, as many families struggle to keep clean, edible food on their tables. Dehydration was also a variable in the epidemic, as many local sources of water became undrinkable with the infection's presence._

_Medical centers rush to input new patients daily, and some, upon being filled with debt based on supplies used, have had no choice but to cast out those without the money or insurance for the treatment. Children are the most susceptible to the virus, and adults are cautioned to keep youngsters indoors at all times._

_Even the most immune of ninjas have fallen victim to the violent hallucinations that come with the sickness. The plague only continues to spread across the lands as hope for a cure falls flat time and time again._

_Amongst all of the wreckage and misfortune, one organization struggles to stand strong. In the throes of their crumbling foundation, they find that they must bind together, whether they like it or not, to survive against this reality-shattering disease._

_The Akatsuki live on._

_For now._

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><p><strong>Prologue: He'll Have To Go, Sooner Or Later<strong>

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><p>"How is he holding on?"<p>

"He won't be able to survive under these conditions much longer. We've got to move him to a safer location for treatment."

"Is…is he gonna die?"

"Or," grinning, the razor-toothed man grinned down at the convulsing redhead, watching as the bright green substance that coated his wooden body slowly crawled upwards, consuming and deteriorating whatever was in its wake, "We could just kill him."

"Kisame, you know that's not an option. Under the circumstances, we need all members alive and well. It's a matter of survival, not a game."

"I know, I know." He kept his eyes averted from the cold silver gaze of his leader, instead redirecting them towards his stoic partner. Ever since the virus had hit, Itachi had been quieter than ever. It was as if the Uchiha always had something on his mind he wanted to say, but not enough spirit to spill his worries to the outside world. All he ever seemed to do was stand and observe what went on. It wasn't much different from what he usually did, but then, he would at least respond. Make remarks; possibly chide Kisame if he went too far with a joke or a threat.

But there was nothing. He only sat, onyx eyes staring straight ahead, focused on nothing, and completely empty of emotion.

"Well, what do you want us to do? _Just let him wither and rot away_?" The darkened split shadow of their resident plant member cast over the infected puppeteer like a death sentence. Zetsu hadn't seemed to care much when it all started, but after plants had become victim to the harsh changes in the land, as well as his shortening supply of victims, he'd become rather cranky. Hidan was the same, as well as his partner, both of whom were rather strung-up about their inability to reach far distances, lest the virus infect them as well.

Once more the shark-ninja glanced around, just for a brief moment, to catch sight of the worried flicker in Deidara's eyes. As stubborn as the teenager was, he'd never admit the affection he held for his incapacitated partner. Sasori was somewhat of a mentor to the youngster, and with his newfound inability to continue working in their resident field, the hunt for the Jinchūriki had been brought to a screeching halt.

Even their leader, who usually held such a commanding aura and tone, could spout nothing more than a simple rejection to the idea of a mercy-kill. The remaining members of the group are what held on for the time being, until they could find or create a cure to expel the virus from Sasori's body.

"_We'll keep him here for the time being. Deidara, you'll go scouting out ahead, look for shelter. We can't stay in this place any longer, the lack of sunlight will only further the rotting. Bring Tobi with you as well. He'll serve as Sasori's replacement for now."_

The blonde's jaw clenched in agitation, the soft flames of the candles bouncing light and shadows off of his face. Kisame could see his annoyance clear in the vicious grit of his teeth, and could tell by the way his eyes continued to twitch that he had something to say about the newfound partnership. But after a moment of silence, he only gave a respectful nod and a meek, "Yes, Leader-sama."

Just as quickly as he was there, he had vanished. A bit loudly, Tobi's voice broke through the cavern, following the same path to the exit that Deidara had gone. "Don't forget your mask! You'll get sick and die, just like Sasori, if you don't wear it!"

Almost directly after that sentence began to fade, a high-pitched scream was heard, followed by overly dramatic begging. "I'm sorry, Deidara! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me—_Ack!"_

"_That boy is going to get himself killed."_ Zetsu mused. "There's no reason to worry, though. Tobi will be a good boy while he's out with Deidara."

"Well, whaddya want us to do now?" It was Hidan this time, the snappish tone in his voice revealing his irritation. While the details of his face were hidden to the shadows, two shimmering pennies stared out from the darkness, swirling into pools of bright purplish-pink. "We can't just be expected to stay here until they come back from Jashin knows where—if they come back! I'm sure as hell not gonna be stuck here much longer, that's for sure!"

"_Would you rather risk the infection_?" Kakuzu responded bitterly, his arms crossed as he tilted his head to inspect their fallen team member's quaking form. _"It doesn't look like it'd be much fun to go through, does it?"_

"I…," the albino began, his words biting off into the quiet after a while. "Yeah, well…whatever. I still don't like being stuck here."

'_Deal with it,'_ Kisame wanted to spit back. Better yet, he could have just cut off the Jashinist's head and tossed it into one of the other sections of the cavern for a while. It would have given them at least a half hour of quiet, maybe more, but the urge for bloodlust caved rather quickly when Sasori gave another pained groan.

It was a shock that the most durable of their organization had been the first one to fall. It seemed that puppets were just as susceptible to the virus, if not more. The wood was like a sponge to the infection, and spurred it through the puppeteer's entire collection of dolls, until finally, like a tidal wave, it had landed on him. Amazingly, it seemed that his human center had given him a fraction of stability.

Yet, as the Akatsuki criminal watched him writhe in agony, he wondered if it was worth it, to have such torture drawn out, because of your luck. Was it good luck, or bad luck? He wasn't sure that he would ever really know. All he knew was that it would be better if he was put out of his misery. But that wasn't allowed. The only thing they could do was let the suffering man try to hold out for how much longer he had.

"What do you suppose we should do with his ring, if he doesn't make it?"

The question was asked a couple of minutes after the previous conversation had ended. In fact, not one new topic came exactly after the last. There were always short intervals between each, and each was filled with the sounds of Sasori's hurt, both tormented and confused. It had been so long that the puppet-man must have completely forgotten what pain felt like. Kisame almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

All eyes were drawn again to Zetsu, whose eyes shone like pieces of gold from within the darkness. Cold, unfeeling, and greedy. They were pinned to the object on Sasori's clenched hand, and the invisible solution hung in the air. What would they do with it?

They'd have to give it to someone else, that's what.

While the virus hung around, it wasn't safe to head outside, no matter the cost. Shelter was the only option, but that didn't mean the mission didn't stay alive as well. With one member gone, they would have to find someone to fill the void. They had yet to snag a single demon, and that wasn't something that the Leader would give up easily. Even in this perilous time, he still seemed hell-bent on tracking down the Jinchūriki, if only giving a break for the fact that if they were stupid enough to wander outside for a prolonged amount of time, death would be inevitable.

The masks they wore helped to dissuade the venomous toxin that filled the air, but whether or not people in other villages were so lucky was unknown. What if they'd taken down one of the demons, only to find out its vessel was infected? It would be a messy, and—Kisame kept his eyes glued to Sasori—_excruciating_ end.

"_If the situation calls for it, we will pass the ring off to a new member."_ Pein spoke solemnly, yet his eyes betrayed no emotion behind his words.

"Why don't we just go ahead and do that?" Hidan snapped, finding his voice again. "If we just sit here, waiting like a bunch of pansy-ass cowards, that's gonna get us nowhere! If we're supposed to keep this organization going, then we need ten members! And since Sasori's screwed, we should just go on and pass his damn ring off to some other sucker!"

Stillness pulsed through the room after the Jashinist's outburst, filling the air with a tense aura that made Kisame's leathery skin prickle with excitement. Either Hidan was about to get his ass kicked, or a decision had been made.

"_Keep your mouth shut, you prayer-spouting fool."_ Kakuzu hissed. _"You're speaking as if Sasori is dead already."_

"Pretty much, yeah!" The silver-haired man was near shouting now, his voice bouncing off the walls with enough volume that it made the shark-ninja's ears ring. "I mean, look at him! He's _dead _without medical treatment—and there's _no known cure_—he's going to end up dead, one way or another. There's no reason to put it off. Find someone to take his place. It's that damn simple."

"_Hidan."_ The crazed religious maniac stopped shouting, flinched at the authoritative tone in their Leader's voice. _"That's enough."_

'_About damn time,' _Kisame mused to himself, watching Itachi, just for any sign of movement. Anything at all. A glimmer of a twitch. Even a brief blink.

Nothing.

"_While your concern is understood, it's impossible to draft anyone at the moment, even if we could. The territory outside is unfit for survival, and until Deidara and Tobi return, we can't move from this spot, let alone look for recruits. For now,"_ the room was hushed, all but for the deep, rasping gasps of their dying companion, _"we will have to put that option aside, and focus on the present. But if it does come to that…"_

Pein looked down at Sasori, his ringed-eyes as intimidating as the gleam of the Grim Reaper's scythe. _"We will take the option into consideration."_


End file.
